Web guiding mechanism for printing machine folders



Dec. 30, 1958 J, E McMULLEN 2,866,636

WEB GUIDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINE FOLDERS Filed Nov. 29, 1956 2 SheetsSheet 1 FIG. I.

INVENTOR J. E. M MULLEN Dec. 30, 1958 WEB GUIDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINE FOLDERS Filed NOV. 29, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INYENTOR B fw AT ORNEYS United States Patent WEB GUIDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINE FOLDERS Joseph E. McMullen, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to The Journal Company, a corporation of Wisconsin Application November 29, 1956, Serial No. 625,178

3 Claims. (Cl. 270-52) This invention relates to printing machines, and more particularly to web slitting and ribbon associating mechanism for large multi-color web printing machines.

In such machines, it is known practice to slit wide printed webs into two or more ribbons, and to associate these ribbons in various ways with or without a reversal of some of the ribbons. A typical arrangement of mechanism for accomplishing this is found in Pancoast Patent 1,501,617, which shows an arrangement in general use.

A common operation involves first, a slitting of a web into two ribbons, which are then passed around angle bars and directed to the right or to the left and either upward or downward as may be necessary to obtain the desired placement of them in the finished product, and then to direct the ribbons into horizontal paths, and around other angle bars to lead them to folder and delivery mechanism. The location of the angle bars and the web guiding rollers, has considerable influence on the maintenance of proper tension of the web, and the ribbons into which it is slit, as an excessive difference in the tension of the various ribbons as they are brought to the folder, will affect the accuracy of the placement of the printed sheets in the finished product.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means for disposing the web slitting and ribbon associating elements of the apparatus so that a proper tension on the various ribbons being associated will be maintained.

An arrangement embodying the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the features of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of an angle bar and guide roller arrangement embodying the invention in a preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

In the mechanism of the invention, a suitable frame structure 10, may carry several sets of angle bars, and web guiding rollers, although only one set is completely shown. With each set there is associated a driven slitter roller 12, and a number of free running guide rollers. Each set of angle bars comprises a smaller diameter bar 20, (best shown in Fig. 3), which may be, for example, 2" in diameter, and a larger diameter bar 21, which may be, for example, 3 in diameter. These bars are located so their upper surfaces are aligned in a common plane that is tangent to the underside of a guide roller 22; which is to say that the turner bars are arranged with their upper surfaces level with each other and with the lower surface of the guide roller. By reason of the difference in diameter of the bars, after the ribbons have passed around the bars, the ribbon R-2, which passes around the large diameter bar will be an inch or so lower than the ribbon R-l, which passes around a smaller diameter bar 20, thus clearing these ribbons, each from the other, for passage to bay window guide rollers 25 and 26, from whence the ribbons may take any desired course to associating, folding, cut-oft and delivery mechanisms.

'ice

A web W or W in traveling from the printing cylinders is drawn around a guide roller 13 and carried to the slitter roller 12, under an even tension throughout its Width, and is so maintained as it passes under the slitter 27 which divides it into ribbons R-1 and R-Z, that run abreast to the guide roller 22. It will be apparent that due to the equal wrap of the ribbons about the driven slitter roller 12, a constant and even tension on the ribbons is maintained as they pass to the turner bars 20 and 21. The structure is symmetricaL'and there is no tendency to set up any unbalance of tension on the ribbons. While the travel of the ribbons around the turner bars involves a diiferent length of travel in contact with the turner bars due to their different diameters, the angle of wrap of the two ribbons on the driven roller 12 is identical, and substantially equal tension on the ribbons R-1 and R-2 is maintained.

Turner bars of two diameters arranged as shown in Fig. 3, with bay window rollers positioned in the relationship shown in Fig. 2, permit horizontal web leads that avoid interference of adjacent ribbons.

It will be understood that a driven drag roller not shown, is located at the folder of the machine, to which these ribbons are led after being associated with other ribbons, and maintains a constant pull on all of the ribbons. The arrangement herein shown enables a large number of webs to be slit after printing and to be associated in any one of many difierent ways, and the various ribbons held under proper tension as they are carried to a folder and delivery mechanism.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Web printing machine delivery and in combination, a slitter drag roller, means for guiding a web to and from the said slitter drag roller with substantially equal wrap thereon before and after the slitter, the means for guiding the slit web from the said drag roller comprising a guide roller parallel to the drag roller, a pair of turner bars parallel to each other and at substantially 45 to the guide roller and positioned tangent to, but on the opposite side of a common plane tangent therewith, one of the said turner bars being of larger diameter than the other, whereby slit ribbons passing around the said turner bars are separated in a direction perpendicular to the said plane.

2. In a printing machine for printing a wide web that is slit into two ribbons which are led around angle bars and rollers to associate said ribbons with other Webs in any one of various arrangements, a driven slitter roller having a slitter cooperating therewith, a first guide roller positioned to guide the said wide web toward the slitter roller, a second guide roller to receive the ribbons slit as the web passes between the slitter and the slitter roller, and angle bars in the paths of the ribbons being led from the second guide roller; the said angle bars differing substantially in diameter and being so supported that the surface of each bar is in a plane common to the surface of the other bar and to the ribbon's as they are drawn from the second guide roller, whereby as the ribbons are drawn away from the turner bars they may be carried in parallel paths spaced apart a distance equal to the difference in the diameters of the bars.

3. In a printing machine having elements as defin'ed in claim 2 and in which the slitter roller and the guide rollers are so positioned that the web and ribbons slit therefrom, embrace at least one third of the periphery of the slitter roller.

Tucker Aug. 6, 1889 Roesen Dec. 15, 1903 

